Some things do not resolve by talking about them one more time. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is one of the most evidence-supported trauma treatments there is, and it works where the memory is actually stuck, not just on the story you tell about it. Delivered by a Registered Clinical Counsellor who works with EMDR who came to this work through the hard version of it, not a textbook.
Book a Free 15-Min Call No referral required telehealth available across BC no obligationWhen something overwhelming happens, the brain does not always finish processing it. The memory gets stored raw, still loaded with the fear, the images, the body sensations from the moment it happened. Years later a sound or a smell or a stretch of highway can set it off like it is happening again. EMDR is a structured protocol for helping the brain do the processing it could not do at the time. You are not talking the memory to death. You are letting it move from stuck to filed, so it becomes something that happened, not something that keeps happening.
Trauma memories can get frozen in an unprocessed state, wired to the same alarm they carried at the time. That is why they fire in the present as if the danger were still live. EMDR targets that specific memory.
While you briefly hold the memory in mind, I guide sets of side-to-side stimulation, usually eye movements. It is thought to work in a way similar to what the brain does in REM sleep, when memory gets processed on its own.
Across sets, the memory tends to lose its intensity. The facts stay, but the grip loosens. What was a flashback becomes an ordinary, if unpleasant, thing that once happened to you.
EMDR does not require you to describe every detail out loud or hand in homework about it. Much of the work happens internally. For people who cannot or will not talk it through, that changes everything.
History, preparation, targeting, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, reevaluation. It is a defined clinical sequence, not a gimmick with eye movements bolted on. We do not skip the stabilization work.
Once a memory is genuinely reprocessed it usually stays that way. The goal is not a better set of coping strategies for the same wound. It is the wound no longer running the show.
You do not have to keep re-living it to get free of it. EMDR lets the brain finish the job it could not finish at the time.
Nicholas van Sabben, RCC | Kamloops, BCEMDR gets talked about like something mysterious. It is not. It is a structured, well-researched clinical protocol, and it works best in the hands of someone who treats it that way and does not flinch when the material gets heavy.
I am Nicholas van Sabben, a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC #19988) based in Kamloops. I came to this work the long way, through underground mining, emergency services, a serious personal mental health history, and clinical training after all of it. I know what it is to carry something that will not put itself down. That is the ground EMDR is for.
I work with EMDR and DBT. I do not refer out when a case gets complex, and I do not start reprocessing before you are stable enough to do it. For trauma, EMDR often pairs with DBT for regulation and ACT for rebuilding the life that avoidance shrank. No worksheets across a desk, no being told to just breathe through it. A direct, practical way of working from someone who has done the hard version.
As a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC), sessions qualify under most extended health benefit plans in BC. This includes major group insurers Manulife, Sun Life, Great-West Life, Desjardins, and most employer or union benefit packages.
Additional coverage: FNHA NIHB direct billing available for eligible First Nations clients. Band Council and MCFD referrals accepted. ICBC MVA claims contact to confirm current eligibility.
No referral required from a physician. First consultation is always free. EMDR is delivered in-person in Kamloops or by secure telehealth anywhere in BC. Contact directly to confirm your specific benefit coverage before booking.
What is EMDR therapy?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a structured, evidence-based therapy for trauma. While you briefly bring a distressing memory to mind, the therapist guides sets of bilateral stimulation, usually side-to-side eye movements. This helps the brain reprocess a memory that got stored raw, so it stops firing as if the event were still happening. It is recommended for PTSD by the World Health Organization and the American Psychological Association.
Does EMDR actually work?
EMDR is one of the most researched treatments for post-traumatic stress, with a strong evidence base for single-incident trauma such as accidents and assaults, and growing support for complex and childhood trauma. It is not a cure-all and it is not magic. It is a well-supported clinical protocol delivered by a trained clinician, and for the right presentation it can resolve things that years of talking never shifted.
Do I have to talk about the trauma in detail?
No. One of the reasons people choose EMDR is that it does not require you to narrate every detail out loud or write it all down for homework. You hold the memory in mind while the reprocessing does the work internally. You stay in control the whole time, and we do not begin reprocessing until you have the stability and resourcing in place to do it safely.
Is EMDR therapy available online in BC?
Yes. EMDR can be delivered effectively over secure telehealth and is available across British Columbia, as well as in person in Kamloops. Sessions with a BC-licensed RCC are covered by the same extended health benefits as in-person sessions, and no physician referral is required.
A direct conversation to determine fit. You ask what you need to ask. I will tell you clearly whether EMDR is right for what you are dealing with, and if it is not, I will point you somewhere better. No sales pitch.
Before any reprocessing, we map your history and build the stability and resourcing to do the work safely. Rushing straight into a trauma memory is how EMDR gets done badly. We do not do that here.
Targeted EMDR sets on the memories driving the symptoms, paired with DBT or ACT where it fits. Progress is tracked and the plan adjusts. In-person in Kamloops or telehealth across BC.
15 minutes. A real conversation. No obligation. If EMDR is not the right fit, I will tell you and give you somewhere better to go.
Book Your Free Consult Kamloops in-person Telehealth across BC No referral required